


Unusual Alliance

by SharkGirlNirea



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Gen, Lila's pretty awful, Marinette suffers, References to history because I'm a nerd, but it has a happy ending, some violence that's more disturbing than gory
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-06
Updated: 2019-05-06
Packaged: 2020-02-27 04:36:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,996
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18731737
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SharkGirlNirea/pseuds/SharkGirlNirea
Summary: When Lila discovers Marinette's greatest secret, Marinette is certain she's doomed to a life of being subjugated to blackmail, emotional turmoil, and threats.But an unusual ally may be able to help free Marinette from her torment.





	Unusual Alliance

    Every word that dripped from the Italian girl’s lips was a lie, and Marinette hated it.

Even more so, she hated her subjugation to the mythomanical girl. The puppet strings tightened around Marinette’s limbs every day, yet the girl was unable to prevent them from twisting, yanking, and jerking Marinette every which way.

She should have exposed Lila as a fraud when she had the chance. 

But now Lila’s phone had evidence of Marinette’s most coveted secret, contained in thirty momentous seconds.

How could Marinette have been so negligent?

_ There had been another akuma attack in the middle of lunch. An akuma villain had flown into the lunch room, shooting cannonballs at the students, screaming about some injustice. Marinette hadn’t paid attention to what was upsetting the supervillain; rather, she’d ran of to the bathroom, not bothering to excuse herself to Nino and Alya.  _

__ _ She should have scanned the area to ensure she had no pursuers, but because she was so accustomed to effortlessly slipping away from disasters, the thought hadn’t occurred to her. _

__ _ Marinette had slipped into the bathroom as she often did, not noticing the bathroom door failing to shut behind her. Not noticing the cell phone deftly lodged between the door and its frame. _

__ _ In the last carefree moments of her life, Marinette had jubilantly cried, “Tikki, spots on!” _

__ _ And as she’d turned to sprint to the cafeteria, she’d nearly collided with Lila Rossi, her phone outstretched, a depraved, psychotic smile carved across her face.  _

__ _ Marinette’s heartbeat had skyrocketed as her stomach twisted into a rock at the sight of the Italian girl.  _

__ _ “My goodness,” Lila had said, her green eyes glittering. “You’re Ladybug.” _

__ _ “No--” Marinette had cried softly, a desperate plea to fate that no, no, Lila Rossi had not just videotaped her transformation. _

__ _ “Actually, yes,” Lila had said, pocketing her phone. “Oh, yes. Oh, Marinette!” _

__ _ “Lila, please, you--you can’t tell anyone-- I’m begging you--” _

__ _ “You’re begging me?” Lila had said, her perpetual grin growing. “I’m not sure you’re in a position to ask something of me.” She had cackled, a harsh noise nearly indecipherable over Marinette’s thrashing pulse. _

_    “Lila, our classmates need me!” Marinette had cried, her normally healthily-flushed face ashen. “We--we can talk later--” _

_    “Our classmates are too dumb to live, anyways,” Lila said, dryly, rolling her eyes. “Plus, if they die, your Lucky Charm will bring them back, anyways. No big deal.”  _

_    Lila had advanced towards Marinette. Marinette had transformed, and she could easily overpower Lila. _

_    But Lila held the greatest secret of Marinette’s life in her pocket and despite months of battling remorseless supervillains, the heroine of Paris allowed the costumeless villain to back her into a stall. _

_   “What do you want from me?” Marinette had whispered, her rasping breaths allowing for little else. _

_   “A lot of things, actually. Revenge, if you’d like to be more specific.” Lila had pressed her palm against her mouth, giggling. “Oh, that’s appropriate. Marinette, you’re familiar with Josef Stalin, right?” _

_   Trembling against the cold metal of the stall, Marinette hadn’t responded. _

_   “Right?” Lila had repeated. _

_   “Yes,” Marinette had mumbled. As distant crashes and screamed had sounded from elsewhere in the school, she had pressed her hand to her mouth, fighting against an oncoming shriek. _

__ _ “If you leave before we’re done, I’m posting the video on YouTube,” Lila had said as Marinette had attempted to stumble past Lila. _

__ _ Sweat dripped from Marinette’s forehead to her now-pointless mask and rigidly turned to her executioner. _

__ _ “Josef Stalin said once, ‘The capitalists will sell us the rope with which we will hang them,’ or something like that. Alternatively, as I’m going to say, ‘The Dupain-Cheng will sell me the rope with which I will hang her. _

__ _ “Marinette Dupain-Cheng, you are going to help me destroy your reputation.” _

Lila had kept her word.

Marinette rested her head on her hands, staring at her lap, ignoring her teacher’s lecture. A week ago, under Lila’s direct orders, Marinette had stood during history and apologized for wronging Lila, admitting her guilt and sorrow about fabricated events. Even as she “confessed,” Marinette clung to the naïve hope just one of her fellow classmates would rise to her defense and say, “Wait, Marinette, are you sure you did that?” or “Mari, what are you talking about?” or anything like that.

But all she’d earned from all but two of her classmates were gazes of shock, disgust, and contempt. Lila had been highly gracious in forgiving Marinette, and had even hugged her in class.

However, as Marinette had confessed, Chloé had stared at her, an eyebrow raised. But skepticism was better than hatred, even if it was from Chloé, who, for all her flaws, had more compassion that Lila. 

    The situation would have been better if Lila forced Marinette to do Lila’s homework, as surely someone would notice Marinette’s handwriting on Lila’s paper. But Lila was smarter than that.

   Marinette wrote, “I will do whatever Lila tells me to do,” 100 times, gave Lila half her lunch, etc 

   The bell rung, and the students filtered out of the classroom.

   “Marinette, wait!”

   Lila’s voice rang clear through the air. 

   “Come here.” Lila said, draping her arm around Marinette’s shoulders, as if they were friends. 

   The girls arrived in the locker room, and, once it had cleared, Lila smiled at Marinette.

   “You’ve been very acquiescent during this whole thing,” Lila said sweetly. “I think it’s time to step up my game. Look at me.”

   Marinette raised her eyes to meet Lila’s gaze. “You’ve already humiliated me. What else do you want?”

   “Only one thing at the moment. Look.”

   She opened her bag, withdrawing a kitchen knife.

   Marinette stared at the utensil. 

_    No. She wouldn’t, not here. _

_    No, she can’t hate me  _ that _ much…. _

   “I’m not going to stab you,” Lila said. “Take it.”

   Her hands borderline convulsing, Marinette accepted the weapon. 

   “Slice your hand.”

   “What?”

   “You heard me.”

   “I-I can’t.”

   “Your choice.” Lila removed her phone from her bag.

   “Wait!”

   Lila unlocked her phone.

   “Lila, I’ll do it!”

   “Your actions don’t match your words.”

   Marinette sliced her palm, flicking blood onto the tile. She cried out, dropping the knife, letting it clatter to the ground. Fighting back tears, she cradled her lacerated hand.

   Pocketing her phone and retrieving her knife Lila scoffed and said, “How the great Ladybug has been reduced to this crying, sniveling mess.”

   Marinette turned from her tormentor, pressing her hand to her chest.

   Lila’s eyes darkened, and she kicked Marinette’s leg, her shoe leaving a smudge of dust on Marinette’s pants. “I hate you," she spat. "Have a good time coming up with a cover story for that.”   


   And she flipped her hair over her shoulder and departed.

   No sooner had the locker room door slammed shut, Marinette sunk to the floor, emotions she’d kept under lock and key for the past two weeks spilling out of her.

   Ragged sobs shook the devastated girl as she pressed her forehead against the cold tile. As she wrapped her arms around herself, Tikki flew out of her Marinette’s bag, frantically attempting to console her owner.

   “You musn’t let her get to you, Marinette!”

   “It’s too late for that, Tikki,” the girl said faintly. “She’s ruined my life, and I’ll-”

   The locker door opened, and Tikki flew into Marinette’s purse. 

   “Dupain-Cheng?”

   Marinette glanced up as she recognized the highly-distinct voice.

   “Chloé, please leave me alone,” Marinette said quietly. “I-I can’t…” Her voice trailed off.

   “What happened to  _ you?” _ Chloé asked. “Does it have something to do with Lila?”

   Marinette’s brow furrowed. “How’d you know that?”

    “I mean, it’s fairly obvious,” Chloé said, rolling her eyes. “I don’t know what happened to you, but during these past couple of days, you’ve basically become Lila’s slave. She just walked out of the locker room. And here you are.”

   Chloé retrieved a makeup bag from her locker as Marinette forced herself to stand.

   “So?” Chloé said.

   “So what?” Marinette said, her voice hitching.

   “Why are you suddenly Lila’s faithful servant? Why are you-? Your hand!”

   Marinette glanced at her hand, which she had inadvertently exposed to Chloé, quickly shoving it behind her back.

   “Was that a knife cut?” Chloé asked. “‘Cause THAT was not a paper cut.”

   “It’s-it’s--” Crumpling under Chloé’s scrutiny, Marinette gave up. “Lila made me do it.”

_    She won’t believe me. Nobody will. _

   “Why?”

   “She knows something about me. I- she’s blackmailing me.”

   “About what, your crush on Adrien?” Chloé snorted. “What, she’s threatening to expose it to the world if you don’t do whatever she tells you to?”

   Her crush on Adrien? Marinette could have laughed. How insignificant her infatuation with the model had become.

   “No, it’s something else,” Marinette said, studying a droplet of her blood on the tile.

   “What could be more mortifying than your crush?”

   No response.

   “Huh,” Chloé said. “Wow, sounds like you hate her almost as much as me.”

   “Wait. You don’t like her?” Marinette said. Chloé didn’t much like anyone save herself, Ladybug, and occasionally her parents, Sabrina, and Cat Noir, but everyone revered Lila.

   “Of course I don’t,” Chloé said. “She’s a fake, she’s a bad liar, and she thinks the world revolves around her. And our classmates are all idiots for falling for everything she says. I mean, have you heard her? Everything she says is ridiculous and outlandish. But if she said she’d time-traveled to the 1940s, killed Hitler, and kicked the Nazis out of Paris, they’d believe her, never mind that Hitler killed himself. Am I right, or am I right? ”

   “You’re right,” Marinette said softly.

   “I don’t know what she’s using to blackmail you, but I guess it’s pretty big. Ugh, I can’t believe  _ you’re  _ the only person I can use.”

   “What?”

   Chloé gave her a look. “ ‘The only thing for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing,’ or something like that. You said that yourself. Like I said with Kagami, Lila’s the evil, and we, the only people who know Lila’s a fraud, are the good.”

   Marinette inhaled, about to say Adrien was also aware of Lila’s true self, but decided against it.

   A small flash of contempt to Adrien flitted across Marinette’s mind.

_    Adrien’s done nothing to expose or stop Lila this entire time. _

   Marinette quickly banished the thought.

   “Your plan with Kagami didn’t turn out as planned,” Marinette said cautiously, fiddling with her jacket. 

   “Well, I learned from my mistake,” Chloé said, twirling part of her hair. “This time, we’ll tear down her wall of lies.”

   “.... How?” Marinette said, wrinkling her nose. 

   Chloé thrust out her chest, crossing her arms. “You're not forgetting who I am, are you? What if we caught a video of Jagged Stone and Prince Ali denouncing Lila? Jagged Stone’s arriving back in Paris in a week, and I’m sure Daddy could pull some strings to get me in contact with Prince Ali...you get where I’m going, right?”

   Video evidence against Lila. Poetic justice.

   “But wait,” Marinette said, standing up straighter. “What about the video she has of me? If we expose her, she’ll release her video.”

   “That part’s easy,” Chloé scoffed. “I’ll just distract her-oh! Maybe as Queen Bee!-- And you steal her phone and delete the video. Problem solved. We can work out the details later. So, truce?”

   “Truce?”

   “We don’t like each other. We’re competing for Adrien. I’m proposing a temporary ceasefire until we take care of Lila. Then, it’s back to honest, open, competition between us.” She held out her hand.

_    Do I have anything to lose? _

   In every conflict between Lila and Marinette, Alya, Nino, and all of Marinette’s friends had sided with Lila, a girl they barely knew.

   “Marinette, you’re just jealous.”

   “Leave her alone, Mari.”

   “Mari, you’re overreacting.”

   Nothing. She had nothing to lose.

   It did not escape Marinette’s notice Chloé had offered her left hand, allowing Marinette to avoid touching her injured skin to Chloé.

   Marinette accepted her hand. “Truce.”

  For the first time in two weeks, Marinette’s smile was genuine.


End file.
